Sunday, 11 December 2016

We are weeks away from the New Year, which means, the most important 2016 year-end lists are being revealed.

In the world of gospel music, Billboard's No. 1 overall and male artist of the year is Kirk Franklin. The year's leading female is Tasha Cobbs.

Anthony Brown & group therAPY rank No. 1 in the duo/group category and Todd Dulaney is the top new artist.

Franklin's
"Wanna Be Happy?" is No. 1 for the year on Hot Gospel Songs. It bowed
at No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 19, 2015, and held at the summit for
45 weeks, the second-longest reign in the chart's 11-year history, after
Marvin Sapp's "Never Would Have Made It" (46 weeks, 2007-08).

Franklin's
"Happy" is also the year's No. 2 song on Gospel Digital Song Sales,
after logging 19 weeks at No. 1. The chart's top title of 2016 is
Anthony Brown & group therAPY's "Worth," which tallied 33 weeks at
No. 1 (beginning June 20, 2015).

Dulaney is the year's top new gospel artist
(and No. 10 overall). He previously sought hits of a different kind,
having played professional baseball for five years in the New York Mets'
minor league system before deciding to take a swing at making music
full-time.

"While playing in the Mets organization, I shared with
some teammates that I occasionally sing," Dulaney told Billboard
earlier this year. "The guys thought it would be funny if they told the
coaching staff.

"So, one morning during spring training they
asked me to sing the national anthem. Afterwards, everyone stopped and
asked, 'What are you doing here?' That was the very beginning of my
transition towards music as a career."